A huge myth is that you can become spiritually mature on your own. We can only grow in community. America has gotten so into isolation that we don't believe this.
If you are not in community then there are at least 58 commands in the Bible that you can't do.
You measure spiritual maturity not in head knowledge, but in character development, in love, it's all about love. You measure spiritual maturity not in how much doctrine you know, but how deeply you love. Knowledge makes us feel important…but love IS what is important. Hebrews 10:25
You are most like Christ when you love. If you're not around people you can't learn to love. You learn to love by being around unlovely people.
You cannot grow without the church, you can get head knowledge without the church. That is the difference from every other religion in the world, they teach that you separate yourself from the rest of the world – In every other religion the most spiritual person is the one most isolated from society, a monk in a cave. Jesus on the other hand was at parties, in the marketplace, in the world, He was called "friend of sinners."
There is a difference between acceptance and approval. That does not mean you approve of their behavior, if you have a ministry like Jesus, you will be criticized by believers. You will not be criticized by the world. Faith is personal, by it is not private.
Who really knows you?
Who is pushing you to become all that God desires you to be?
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